Constant resolution continuous hybrid zoom system

ABSTRACT

The present invention relate to an optical apparatus to capture images of a wide-angle scene with a single camera having a continuous panomorph zoom distortion profile. When combined with a processing unit, the hybrid zoom system creates an output image with constant resolution while allowing continuous adjustment in the magnification and field of view of the image without interpolation like a digital zoom system or without any moving parts like an optical zoom system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/615,252, filed on Jan. 9, 2018, entitled “ConstantResolution Continuous Hybrid Zoom System,” currently pending, the entirecontents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an optoelectronicapparatus to capture images of a wide-angle scene with a single camerahaving a continuous panomorph zoom distortion profile. To create acontinuous zoom for a human observer, instead of using pixelinterpolation in order to maintain the amount of pixels in the finalimage or moving the optical element to change the magnification andreduce the lens field of view (“FoV”), or a combination of two or morecameras with different FoV, embodiments of the present invention use adistortion profile with a large constant magnification in a central areaand a dropping magnification in the rest of the field of view. Thedistortion profile is designed as to reduce the pixel interpolation andmaintain an almost constant image resolution.

Some existing continuous zoom system uses multiple cameras withdifferent FoV in order to archive a continuous zoom effect. By combiningthe information captured with the two cameras, it is possible to createa zoomed in image without the need to resort to pixel interpolation.However, the fact that multiple cameras are necessary implies tradeoffswith cost, power consumption, size limitations, weight limitations andimage artifacts created by the fusion of images coming from differentcameras. A solution using only one camera would be free of thosetradeoffs.

Existing pure optical zoom system can vary the magnification and fieldof view of the lens by moving some elements inside the optical lens.However, having moving parts inside optics increase the size and thecomplexity. For some applications, such as for miniature wide-anglelenses for consumer electronics, the size constraints are too strict toallow the movement of some optical elements to create an optical zoom.

On the other hand, existing pure digital continuous zoom solutions areapplying computational operations to the image to modify the outputfield of view, which as a side effect from having to display with thesame output size, create new pixels from the original pixels at somepoint during the operation. This process is also called upsampling,oversampling or expansion. This can be done through extrapolation,interpolation or other means. These new pixels calculated from digitalzoom do not contain more optical information about the scene than theoriginal image. This computational operation is not able to create extrainformation and is very limited in increasing the output image quality.

There is a need of a camera with a continuous resolution zoom distortionprofile and associated algorithms reducing interpolation, maintaining ahigh quality level of information about the original scene on eachpixel.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome all the previously mentioned issues, embodiments of thepresent invention describe a method using an imager including awide-angle optical lens having a strong magnification variation from thecenter to the edge and an image sensor having multiples image sensorpixels in combination with a processing unit. The resulting continuoushybrid zoom system is able to output an image with constant resolutionwhile allowing continuous adjustment of the magnification and field ofview of the image, simultaneously limiting the interpolation created bypure a digital zoom system and limiting the movement of parts like thosein a pure optical zoom system. In a preferred embodiment according tothe present invention, the continuous zoom system includes no movableoptical element at all in the imaging system. In another embodimentaccording to the present invention, the only movement in the imagingsystem is related to an auto focus function and may include movement ofthe image sensor, of an optical element or of the whole lens withrespect to the image plane. This auto focus can utilize a fixed settingor a smart auto focus that adapts to the scene content visible or not inthe output image depending on the selected output image field of view.

To offer a continuous magnification with a constant resolution, thewide-angle lens must have a specific distortion profile. In the centralregion of the field of view, corresponding to the maximum magnificationhybrid zoom (or minimum design field of view), the distortion profilemust have an almost constant magnification to create an output withconstant resolution close to a 1:1 pixel ratio between image sensoruseable pixels and output image pixels. Then, for larger fields of viewof the wide-angle lens than the minimum design field of view, themagnification (distortion profile) drops in order to maintain a similarimage resolution even with an increasing output image field of view. Atthe edge of the field of view of the wide-angle lens, the magnificationis minimum and defines the maximum design field of view of thecontinuous hybrid zoom system. This way, for any selected output imagefield of view, the resolution, in pixels/degree, at the edge of theoutput image is always close to having a 1:1 pixel ratio with the imagesensor pixels at that position.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the lens, insteadof having a higher magnification in the center and lower magnificationtoward the edge, the digital image from the imager has a zone of maximummagnification in an off-centered region of the image, allowing for thehybrid zoom area to also be off-centered.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the camera, insteadof having a wide angle lens with a specific distortion profile such ashigher magnification in the center and lower magnification toward theedge, the camera can use any wide angle lens and bin the pixels tocreate the same type of effect, such as higher magnification in thecenter and lower magnification toward the edge by a processing unit,electronics or other suitable hardware and/or software.

At the minimum field of view setting, the processing unit or the sensorunit can simply perform a crop of the input image to create the outputimage because the constant magnification already produces almost a 1:1ratio between the image sensor pixels and the output image pixels. Withhybrid zoom settings other than the minimum field of view, there is anover sampling of the source image compared to the output image andresidual positive distortion. The processing unit can then digitallycompress the center of the image to reduce oversampling and lower theimage resolution from the input resolution to the required outputresolution. This compression by the image processing unit isprogressively softer until the selected edge of the FoV, where the ratiobecome 1:1 by design of the distortion profile for the wide-angle lens.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a smart binning processingunit can be coupled with the image sensor or a smart binning hardwarecan be used to pre-compress the central part of the image before sendingthe image to the processing unit. A smart binning image sensor canperform 1×1, 2×2, 3×3, 1×2, 1×3, 2×3, or any other combination of pixelbinnings required to lower the image resolution in selected areas of theimage while always limiting the interpolation ratio between the sourceresolution and the output image resolution. This smart binning imagesensor allows lowering of the data bandwidth or required compression bythe processing unit, which is especially useful if the processing unitwould instead require time and power to do the same task. This smartbinning image sensor is also useful by lowering the transmitted imagesize, allowing savings on the quantity of useless informationtransmitted. Finally, it can allow an increase in the frame rate of thecamera or the signal-to-noise ratio.

In some embodiments according to the present invention, the camera canbe combined with another camera, can also include optical zoom based onmoving parts or can include digital zoom based on interpolation oroversampling, or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofa preferred embodiment of the invention, will be better understood whenread in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose ofillustration, there is shown in the drawings an embodiment which ispresently preferred. It should be understood, however, that theinvention is not limited to the precise arrangements andinstrumentalities shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the continuous hybrid zoom process;

FIG. 2 is a schematic showing the image captured from the wide-anglelens with a constant magnification in the center and then decreasingtoward the edge;

FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example magnification as a function of thefield of view;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a more general magnification curve as afunction of the field of view;

FIG. 5 is a schematic showing how the smart binning sensor is used tolower compress the resolution in over-sampled parts of the image; and

FIG. 6 is an example layout of an optical lens having a largemagnification ratio from the center to the edge of the field of view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The words “a” and “an”, as used in the claims and in the correspondingportions of the specification, mean “at least one.”

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart explaining the whole process for thecontinuous hybrid zoom system according to the present invention. Thefirst step 100 is to use an imager having an imaging system with adistortion profile, as will be explained with reference to FIG. 3, andan image sensor. The imaging system generally includes a classicalimaging lens with refractive elements either in plastic or in glass, butcould also include other optical elements such as, but not limited to,diffractive elements, mirror, filters or the like. This imager 100 isused to capture a scene by converting the optical image from the imagingsystem to a digital image file at step 110 using its image sensor. Theimage sensor includes multiple image sensor pixels and can be of anytype, such as, but not limited to, CCD, CMOS, NMOS or the like. Thedigital image file has a digital image distortion with a generallyconstant magnification from the center of the field of view up to theminimum design field of view and a generally decreasing magnificationfrom the minimum design field of view up to the maximum design field ofview. The distortion in the digital image results in a preferredembodiment from the optical distortion of the imaging system, but couldalso result in other embodiments from smart binning of pixels done by asmart binning unit or from a combination of both optical distortion inthe imaging system of the imager and smart binning of pixels by a smartbinning unit. The smart binning unit is located either inside the imagesensor or in a separate unit where a software or hardware is receivingthe raw image from the image sensor and processing it to create thedigital image file. The captured digital image is then transferred tothe image processing unit 150, inside which the output field of viewvalue between the minimum design field of view and the maximum designfield of view is selected at step 120 using an output field of viewselection unit. This selection unit for selecting the output field ofview can be of any kind, including a pre-stored value in the processingunit, a manual input by an user, an automated input from an algorithmunit based on the scene content or requirement by the display or theapplication or any other source for selecting the output field of viewor equivalently the zoom level. The image processing unit 150 then usesthe knowledge of the exact digital image distortion of the digital imagefrom the imager 100, the distortion being either due to the imagingsystem or to the smart binning image sensor, to process the digitalimage by dewarping it at step 130. The dewarping is used to generate animage without distortion of the selected zoom area. In some embodiments,the processing to dewarp the digital image creates a processed imagefollowing a known projection depending on the application. This knownprojection of any shape, includes, but is in no way limited to, arectilinear projection, an equidistant projection, a stereographicprojection, an equisolid angle projection, an orthographic projection,any projection defined by polynomial coefficients or the like. Duringthe dewarping, the processing unit keeps the ratio between the number ofimage sensor pixels and the number of processed image pixels close to1:1 in a region generally at the edge of the selected output field ofview, but this region could be located elsewhere in the field of viewfor some specific applications. If the selected output field of view islarger than the minimum design field of view, the image processing unitthen crops the field of view to the selected value and adjusts theoutput resolution of the image at step 140 to create the final processedimage. The resulting processed image can then optionally be outputtedfrom the processing unit at step 160, either to a display device or toan algorithm unit.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a digital image captured by the image sensorusing an imager designed for continuous hybrid zoom according to anembodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, theimaging system creates an optical image of a scene in the image planeand the image sensor is located at this image plane. The rectangle 200represents the full digital image captured by the sensor, including theimage footprint 205 created by the imaging system. This footprint 205can sometimes be circular with wide-angle lenses when the image sensorhorizontal and vertical dimensions are larger than the imaging lensimage size, but the exact shape of the image footprint 205 on the fulldigital image 200 can be of any shape according to the presentinvention, including rectangular, elliptical, part of a circle croppedvertically or horizontally, or the like. As such, in some embodimentsaccording to the present invention, instead of the rectangle 200representing the full digital image captured by the sensor, therectangle 220 represents the imaging area with active pixels of theimage sensor and the digital image file has no black corner. In bothcases where the image sensor is represented by the rectangle 200 or bythe rectangle 220, a central zone 210 has a preferably constantmagnification that is a maximum magnification value of the whole fieldof view. Outside of this central zone 210, the magnification is lowerand drops with increasing the field of view. An image area representingthe maximum zoom level 215 is located inside the central zone 210 ofalmost constant magnification. This image area ideally has a sourcepixel to output image pixel ratio close to 1:1 when the selected outputfield of view is the minimum design field of view. Inside the scene,there are 3 faces 223, 225 and 235 which would appear almost the samesize on a regular camera. Here, since the face 223 is inside the area oflarger magnification, (central zone 210), its image on the sensor islarger than the faces 225 or 235. After processing by the imageprocessing unit, the final output depends on the selected zoom level orthe selected output field of view. The output image 250 represents theoutput when the zoom level is maximum. In that case, because of the highmagnification in the center of the original image created by the lenswith distortion, almost no interpolation is needed to modify the numberof pixels to fit the output resolution compared to pure a digital zoom,and the face 255 is displayed with almost 1:1 pixel ratio. The outputimage 260, on the other hand, represents the output when the zoom levelis minimum. Here, the central area has been compressed by the imageprocessing unit so the size in pixels of the face 270 is almost equal tothe size of the faces 265 and 275. The exact compression applied by theprocessing unit depends on the selected dewarping projection dependingon the application. The edge of the field of view is processed withalmost a 1:1 pixel ratio without compression while the central area iscompressed, using several captured pixels for each displayed pixel. Hereby compression, we are referring to the process of using a higher numberof pixels from the original digital image file in an area to compress toproduce a processed image with a lower number of pixels in thiscompressed area, a process also known as pixel downsampling, pixelsubsampling or pixel decimation. Any continuous zoom level between themaximum zoom and the minimum zoom can be achieved the same way, alwayshaving a nearly 1:1 pixel ratio at the edge area of the output imagebecause of the unique shape of the distortion profile from the lens. Atevery zoom level, the number of pixels in the input image is always over1:1 or close to 1:1 for the full field of view. In some embodimentsaccording to the present invention, the processing unit simultaneouslyprocesses a single digital image 200 into multiple processed images 250and 260 having different selected output field of view values, whichwould be impossible with a typical zoom system with moving opticalelements.

FIG. 3 shows an example graph 300 of the magnification (or distortion)of an imager with hybrid zoom distortion as a function of the field ofview according to the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, thedigital image distortion is such that the magnification is maximum in acentral area of the image and the magnification is minimum in an areanear the maximum design field of view. The field of view 310 representsthe minimum design field of view that corresponds to the maximum zoomlevel. For all fields from the center to the minimum design field ofview 310, the magnification value is ideally close to a constant asshown with the plateau 330. However, this plateau 330 is not a strictrequirement according to the present invention and a departure from aconstant plateau is allowed within the scope of the present invention.The field of view 320 represents the maximum design field of view thatcorresponds to the minimum zoom level. At this field of view, themagnification 350 is generally the lowest value in the entire image. Atany output field of view 315 located in the region between the minimumdesign field of view 310 and the maximum design field of view 320, themagnification 340 is between the maximum magnification 330 and theminimum magnification 350. In some embodiments according to the presentinvention, the minimum design field of view value 310 is defined as afraction of the maximum design field if view 320 such that the ratio ofthe field of view 310/320 is substantially equal to the ratio of theminimum magnification by the maximum magnification 350/330. In someother embodiments, there is a difference up to ±10% between these 2ratios. As an example, for a lens having a maximum design field of view320 of 75°, a maximum magnification 330 of 50 pixels/degree, a minimummagnification 350 of 10 pixels/degree, the ratio of minimummagnification divided by the maximum magnification is 10/50, or a ratioof 1/5. Since the ratio of the minimum design field of view by themaximum design field of view must be equal, we find that the minimumdesign field of view value 310 is 15° in this example. In some otherembodiments according to the present invention, instead of defining theminimum design field of view from the maximum/minimum magnificationratio, the minimum design field of view 310 is instead defined as thefield of view where the magnification, calculated in pixels per degree,is outside a ±10% range from the magnification value at the center ofthe field of view or at the center of the area of interest when the areaof interest is off-centered. In some embodiments according to thepresent invention, the ratio between the maximum magnification and theminimum magnification is at least 2×. Ideally, the ratio between thenumber of image sensor pixels and the number of processed image pixelsis as close as possible to 1:1 in a region at the edge of the selectedoutput field of view. However, in some embodiments according to thepresent invention, this ratio can be up to 2:1 or 1:2 in a region at theedge of the selected output field of view. To get a ratio close to 1:1at all continuous zoom levels, the magnification value 340 at everyoutput field of view angle 315, represented by the symbol θ, mustrespect the condition:

${{Magnification}(\theta)} > {\frac{{Min}.{design}.{FoV}}{\theta}{{Max}.{Mag}.}}$

For example, if the minimum design FoV 310 has a value of 15° and themaximum Magnification 330 has a value of 5× compared to the minimummagnification 350, the Magnification 340 at an output FoV 315 of 60°must be greater than the value given by the equation below:

${{Magnification}\left( {60{^\circ}} \right)} > {\frac{15{^\circ}}{60{^\circ}}5x}$which results in a magnification larger than 1.25× at 60° compared tothe minimum magnification 350 at the maximum design field of view of75°. In some embodiments of the present invention, some departure fromthe above formula by ±25% are allowed to account for manufacturingerrors from lenses to lenses or for design decisions to have a smootherdistortion curve and simpler manufacturing. In this case, themagnification at a given output field of view in the region between theminimum design field of view and the maximum design field of view issuch that:

${0.75\frac{{Min}.{design\_ FoV}}{\theta}{{Max}.{Mag}}} < {{Magnification}(\theta)} < {1.25\frac{{Min}.{design\_ FoV}}{\theta}{{Max}.{Mag}}}$In some other embodiments, instead of satisfying the ±25% condition atevery fields of view between the minimum design field of view and themaximum design field of view, the condition could be satisfied only at anumber of discrete output field of view values at which the systemaccording to the present invention is used. This FIG. 3 only shows themagnification graph of an example embodiment according to the presentinvention where the plateau 330 and the curve 340 are ideal for anequidistant dewarping (f-theta projection), but other magnificationgraphs are possible. For example, in other embodiments according to thecurrent invention, when the magnification is given as a surfacemagnification instead of a linear magnification, the requiredmagnification must follow an equation proportional to 1 over the squareroot of θ instead of an equation proportional to 1 over θ. For thisreason, FIG. 4 shows a more general graph.

FIG. 4 shows a more general magnification curve 400 according to someother embodiments according to the present invention. In thismagnification curve, there is a minimum design field of view 410defined. The magnification curve in the central area between the centralFoV and this minimum design FoV 410, instead of a plateau of constantmagnification 330 like in the example of FIG. 3, can be of any shape,including, but in no way limited to, a rectilinear lens, also known asan f-tan(theta) projection lens. The magnification 430 in this centralarea can be designed such that the desired output view when the selectedoutput field of view is the minimum design field of view, as in view 250at FIG. 2, can be directly outputted without any dewarping because thereis no unwanted distortion to remove by the processing unit. Themagnification value at the minimum design field of view 410 can be themaximum magnification of the imager, but this is not a strictrequirement in this embodiment of the present invention. Themagnification graph 400 also has a maximum design FoV value 420 wherethe magnification value 450 is often minimal. At the maximum design FoV420, or at any other field of view value 415 located between the minimumdesign FoV 410 and the maximum design FoV 420, as in view 260 at FIG. 2,a dewarping is then done by the processing unit to create a dewarpedview. The dewarped view can be of any projection required by theapplication or the display, but is such that the ratio between thenumber of image sensor pixels and the number of output image pixels isclose to 1:1 in an area of the output field of view. At any otherlocation of the output field of view, the processing unit compresses theoriginal digital image in order to produce the desired projection. Inthe general case of FIG. 4, the magnification value 440 at any selectedFoV value 415 is not constrained by a specific equation, but only by thedesired dewarped output view projection such that the 1:1 pixel ratiocondition is respected in at least one position in the selected outputFoV 415.

FIG. 5 shows an example of using an optional smart binning sensor orprocessing unit as in some embodiments according to the presentinvention. In this image sensor 500, the number of pixels is 18×18,represented by the smallest squares. This 18×18 sensor is only anexample to schematize the concept, but the idea would be the same withimage sensors of multiple megapixels, as are used in many applications.When this smart binning sensor is used in collaboration with the lenshaving hybrid zoom distortion, it can use binning or not depending onthe selected zoom level. When at the maximum zoom level, only thecentral part of the image is used and because the magnification from thelens is almost constant in that part, almost no binning is required fromthe sensor. Hence, all the original pixels are read in the useful areadefined by the selected output field of view. On the other extreme, whenthe hybrid zoom is at the minimum zoom level, meaning the maximum designfield of view, there is almost a 1:1 pixel ratio at the edge of thefield of view where the magnification is minimal, but the central areais over sampled. In this case, the smart binning sensor can use, forexample, the pixel 535 in a 1×1 area 530 toward the edge where nooversampling is done. In the center, where the oversampling is maximum,the 9 individual pixels 515 can be binned together in a 3×3 area 510.This smart binning process is applied to limit the number of pixels readby the image sensor or transmitted to the processing unit, allowing anincrease in the reading frame rate on the sensor or a lowering of therequired bandwidth to transmit the image. In the intermediate areabetween the center and the edge, the 4 individual pixels 525 can bebinned together in a 2×2 area 520. In a real sensor or smart binningunit, the smart binning is not restricted to square areas of 1×1, 2×2 or3×3, but can also be rectangular binning of 1×2, 2×3, 1×3 or any othercombination as long as the final image from the smart binning sensor hasenough resolution at all points to be over or close within ±25% to theoutput resolution of the output image at the selected zoom level. Whilethe smart binning is preferably done as soon as possible in the captureprocess, at the sensor level, the location of the smart binning is notlimited in the present invention. Instead of doing the smart binning inthe sensor, the smart binning could also be done by any hardware orsoftware process in a smart binning unit during image capture at anymoment before the digital image is sent to the image processing unit.

Alternatively, in other embodiments of the present invention, the smartbinning sensor itself can be used to generate the highly distorted imagewith more pixels in the central part of the FoV compared to the edgeinstead of doing it optically with a wide-angle lens having highdistortion. Alternatively, the highly distorted original image can becreated from a combination of distortion in the optical lens and a smartbinning sensor working together. This smart binning has the benefits tochange the magnification ratio and location according to external orinternal parameters on demand and even in real-time.

FIG. 6 shows an example layout of an imaging lens with continuous hybridzoom distortion according to an embodiment of the present invention. Inthis example, the wide-angle 600 includes 6 optical elements 602, 604,606, 610, 612 and 614, an aperture stop 608, a sensor coverglass 616also potentially acting as a filter, and an image plane 618. However,this exact number of element is not a requirement according to thepresent invention and the same inventive method could be achieved withmore or less optical elements. In this example, the maximum full fieldof view is 180° as represented by the vertical rays entering the lens at638 with an angle of 90° with the lens axis, but the method according tothe present invention is compatible with any field of view, from verynarrow to extremely wide-angle. In this example schematic, the rays oflight enter the lens from various equally spaced angles between 0° and90° numbered 630, 632, 634, 636 and 638, but in the real lens, the raysof light enter the lens at all continuous angles between 0° and themaximum field of view. The beam of light from 630 hits the image sensorat 650, the beam of light from 632 hits the image sensor at 652, thebeam of light from 634 hits the image sensor at 654, the beam of lightfrom 636 hits the image sensor at 656 and the beam of light from 638hits the image sensor at 658. Even if the entering beam of light 630,632, 634, 636 and 638 are equally spaced angularly, the positions onwhich each reaches the image sensor are not equally spaced. Because ofthe higher magnification in the center as compared to the magnificationtoward the edges as illustrated in FIG. 2, the distance between theposition 650 and 652 is greater than the position between 656 and 658.In the present schematized embodiment, the lens elements 602 and 614include aspherical surfaces in order to help to shape the distortionprofile of the imaging lens. However, this is not a requirementaccording to the present invention and all surfaces could be sphericalin another embodiment. Furthermore, other common types of opticalsurfaces could be used in the lens design to create the desiredmagnification curve or to improve other optical performances, including,but in no way limited to, diffractive surfaces, Fresnel surfaces, conicsurfaces, cylindrical surfaces, freeform surfaces, holographic surfaces,surfaces with meta-material, or the like. In the present embodiment, alloptical elements are refractive, made either of glass, plastic orcrystal. However, in some embodiments according to the presentinvention, a refractive surface could also be used either to create thedesired continuous zoom magnification curve or to improve other opticalperformances. Finally, the lens elements 610 and 612 in this exampleembodiment form a doublet in order to improve the chromatic performancesof the imaging system. Using one or multiple doublets or triplets ispossible according to the present invention, but is not required.

In some embodiments according to the present invention, the hybrid zoomsystem can use multiples cameras to capture the images with at least onecamera using a lens with continuous hybrid zoom distortion. In thatcase, the imager includes multiple imaging systems and multiple imagesensors creating multiple digital images. This way, each imaging systemcan have different parameters, including orientation and position in thescene, position of maximum magnification where maximum zoom will bepossible, strength of maximum magnification or minimum and maximum FoVfor hybrid zoom. The image processing unit then receives the multiplesimages coming from the multiple cameras, each with a potential hybridzoom in their region of interest. In some embodiments according to thepresent invention, the multiple digital images are stitched togetherbefore processing by the processing unit, if required. The processingunit can then dewarp the zone of interest and adjust the resolution forthe output image to the final user, as was the case with a single camerawith continuous zoom system.

In some other embodiments according to the present invention, thecontinuous zoom optical system is combined with digital zoom to create ahybrid system using the advantages of both the continuous zoom and adigital zoom.

In some embodiments according to the present invention, the imageprocessing unit can apply some optional image improvement beforeoutputting the image. This can include basic improvements in, forexample, contrast, sharpness, de-noise, white-balance, color correctionor the like. This can also include more advanced improvement techniques,including automated improvement using automated computer imagingtechniques such as computational imaging, image processing or from anartificial intelligence algorithm. This can be either programmed orself-learned via deep learning neural networks. One example embodimentof using “A.I.” to enhance the image is to use deep learning to learnthe 3D information from the captured image and then apply some imageblur for objects far from the focus point. Since the wide-angle lens hasa distortion profile with a big change of magnification across the fieldof view, any movement of the camera will make an object appear bigger orsmaller depending on its location in the field of view and on itsdistance from the lens. The variation in the images can then be used byan A.I. algorithm to measure the distance and calculate 3D information.Finally, this 3D information can be used to enhance the output in anyway required by the final user.

In some other embodiments according to the present invention, thecontinuous zoom optical camera in used with any of the three automaticcommon settings, auto focus (AF), auto exposure (AE) and auto whitebalance (AWB), a technique often known as camera 3A corrections. These3A corrections can be applied at the hardware level inside the camera,in a hardware improvement unit not part of the camera, in a softwarealgorithm or in combination of more than one of the above.

All of the above are figures and examples of specific image distortiontransformation units and methods. In all these examples, the imager isnot limited to wide-angle and can have any field of view, from verynarrow to extremely wide-angle. In all of these examples, the method ispresented in picture mode for simplicity, but the method can also beapplied multiple times in sequence to work in video mode. All of theseexamples are not intended to be an exhaustive list or to limit the scopeand spirit of the present invention. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodimentsdescribed above without departing from the broad inventive conceptthereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limitedto the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to covermodifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for creating a continuous zoom optical systemusing an imager creating a digital image file having a variablemagnification across a field of view in order to have a ratio close to1:1 between a number of image sensor pixels and a number of output imagepixels in a region at an edge of a selected output field of view, themethod comprising of: a. creating, using an imager having at least animaging system and an image sensor, an optical image of a scene in animage plane; b. converting, by the image sensor of the imager, theoptical image into a digital image, the image sensor including aplurality of image sensor pixels, the digital image having a digitalimage distortion with a generally constant magnification from a centerof the field of view up to a minimum design field of view and agenerally decreasing magnification from the minimum design field of viewup to a maximum design field of view; c. receiving, by a processingunit, a selection of an output field of view value between a valuecorresponding to the minimum design field of view and a valuecorresponding to the maximum design field of view; and d. processing, bythe processing unit, the digital image in order to create a processedimage, the processing unit dewarping the digital image to removedistortion created by the imager while keeping a ratio between thenumber of image sensor pixels and a number of processed image pixelsclose to 1:1 in a region at the edge of the selected output field ofview, the processed image having its field of view cropped to theselected output field of view value.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising of: e. outputting the processed image.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the value corresponding to the minimum design field of viewis defined such that a ratio between a maximum magnification and aminimum magnification is equal to a ratio between the minimum designfield of view and the maximum design field of view.
 4. The method ofclaim 2 wherein the processed image is outputted to a display device. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the output field of viewvalue is received from a user.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theselection of the output field of view value is automatically receivedfrom an algorithm.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the algorithm usesa spatial position and/or orientation of the imager to calculate theselected output field of view.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thedigital image distortion results from optical distortion in the imagingsystem of the imager.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein a smart binningprocess is applied to limit a number of pixels read by the image sensoror transmitted to the processing unit.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the digital image distortion results from smart binning ofpixels by the image sensor of the imager or by a smart binning unit. 11.The method of claim 1, wherein the digital image distortion results froma combination of optical distortion in the imaging system of the imagerand smart binning of pixels.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein thedigital image distortion is such that the magnification is maximum in acentral area of the image and the magnification is minimum in an areanear the maximum design field of view.
 13. The method of claim 8,wherein the magnification for every output field of view θ in a regionbetween the minimum design field of view and the maximum design field ofview is such that:${{Magnification}(\theta)} > {\frac{{Min}.{design\_ FoV}}{\theta}{{Max}.{Mag}.}}$14. The method of claim 8, wherein the magnification at a given outputfield of view θ in a region between the minimum design field of view andthe maximum design field of view is such that:${0.75\frac{{Min}.{design\_ FoV}}{\theta}{{Max}.{Mag}}} < {{Magnification}(\theta)} < {1.25\frac{{Min}.{design\_ FoV}}{\theta}{{Max}.{Mag}.}}$15. The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio between the number of imagesensor pixels and the number of processed image pixels is up to 2:1 or1:2 in a region at the edge of the selected output field of view. 16.The method of claim 1, wherein the imager includes multiple imagingsystems and multiple image sensors for creating multiple digital images.17. The method of claim 16, wherein the multiple digital images arestitched together before the processing by the processing unit.
 18. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the continuous zoom optical system has nomovable optical element.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein thecontinuous zoom optical system is combined with a digital zoom.
 20. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the processing unit simultaneously processesa single digital image into multiple processed images having differentselected output field of view values.
 21. The method of claim 1, whereinthe dewarping of the digital image creates a processed image following aknown projection.
 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the processed imageis created by the processing unit without dewarping to remove distortionwhen the received selection of output field of view value is the valuecorresponding to the minimum design field of view.
 23. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the digital image from the imager has a maximummagnification in an off-centered region of the image.
 24. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the continuous zoom optical system is used with an autofocus, an auto exposure or an auto white balance process.
 25. Acontinuous zoom optical system using an imaging system to create adigital image file having a variable magnification across a field ofview in order to have a resolution ratio close to 1:1 between a numberof image sensor pixels and a number of output image pixels in a regionat an edge of a selected output field of view, the optical systemcomprising: a. an imaging system creating in an image plane an opticalimage of a scene, the imaging system having optical distortion such thatthe optical image has a generally constant magnification from a centerof the field of view up to a minimum design field of view and agenerally decreasing magnification from the minimum design field of viewup to a maximum design field of view; b. an image sensor converting theoptical image to a digital image, the image sensor including a pluralityof image sensor pixels, and the digital image having a digital imagedistortion resulting from the optical distortion of the imaging system;c. an output field of view value selection unit for receiving aselection of an output field of view value between a value correspondingto the minimum design field of view and a value corresponding to themaximum design field of view; and d. a processing unit processing thedigital image in order to create a processed image, the processing unitdewarping the digital image while keeping a ratio between the number ofimage sensor pixels and a number of processed image pixels close to 1:1in a region at the edge of the selected output field of view, theprocessed image having its field of view cropped to the selected outputfield of view value.
 26. A continuous zoom optical system using smartbinning from an image sensor to create a digital image tile having avariable magnification across a field of view in order to have aresolution ratio close to 1:1 between a number of image sensor pixelsand a number of output image pixels in a region at an edge of a selectedoutput field of view, the optical system comprising: a. an imagingsystem creating in an image plane an optical image of a scene; b. animage sensor converting the optical image to a digital image, the imagesensor including a plurality of image sensor pixels; c. a smart binningunit to do smart binning of the image sensor pixels such that theresulting digital image has a generally constant magnification from acenter of the field of view up to a minimum design field of view and agenerally decreasing magnification from the minimum design field of viewup to a maximum design field of view; d. an output field of view valueselection unit for receiving a selection of an output field of viewvalue between a value corresponding to the minimum design field of viewand a value corresponding to the maximum design field of view; and e. aprocessing unit processing the digital image in order to create aprocessed image, the processing unit dewarping the digital image toremove distortion created by the smart binning unit while keeping aratio between the number of image sensor pixels and a number ofprocessed image pixels close to 1:1 in a region at the edge of theselected output field of view, the processed image having its field ofview cropped to the selected output field of view value.